Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503568
2 4 A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / 2 0 2 3 F O O T B A L L P R E V I E W / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / I t's been a topsy-turvy couple of years at Penn State, with the Nittany Li- ons playing .500 football during the 2020 and '21 seasons only to come roar- ing back last fall with an 11-2 finish and the program's first Rose Bowl victory in nearly three decades. It's also been an unsettled time for college sports in general. Thanks to the loosening of longstanding NCAA restric- tions, it's easier than ever for athletes to transfer, and it's also possible for them to profit off their fame and talent via name, image and likeness deals. That combination has ushered in a form of free agency that has radically changed college football. And if you think the game looks different now, just wait until next year when the playoff expands to 12 teams and the Big Ten becomes the nation's first bicoastal conference with the addition of USC and UCLA. James Franklin has been steering Penn State's football program through the turbulence. The Langhorne, Pa., native, who turned 51 in February, has now spent nearly a full decade with the Nittany Li- ons. When he took the dais for his intro- ductory press conference in January 2014, he was joined by athletics director Dave Joyner and president Rodney Er- ickson. Joyner and Erickson have since departed, and their successors have also departed, but Franklin has carried on. He's coming up on his 10th year in State College, having compiled a 78-36 overall record and 49-30 mark in Big Ten play during his tenure with the Nittany Lions. I N T E R V I E W J A M E S F R A N K L I N THE TEST OF TIME THE TEST OF TIME James Franklin has helped navigate an ever-changing college football landscape during his first nine seasons at Penn State, and there is more upheaval to come N A T E B A U E R | NATE.BAUER@ON3.COM